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A Week to Reflect

Well, it’s hard to believe, but we are in the final week. 6 days from now I will have finished running the GoodLife FITNESS 10k race at the Bluenose Marathon! Wow.

This week is a “taper” week, or a rest week, in other words. A week to make sure our bodies and minds are as prepared as possible for the race on Sunday. However, it’s also a week to reflect, at least for me. I am super nervous about the race so reflecting on my journey will help me decompress and stay positive. I also have so many feelings and thoughts about this journey! Writing things down has always helped me gather my thoughts, so here goes:

First of all, I ran the full course route (the full 10k) for the first time yesterday. It was super hard – honestly, harder than I was expecting. I wasn’t that excited when I finished. I was mostly glad it was over lol. I mean, I was happy I completed it, but also daunted by how hard it was. I was really hot and my whole body felt heavy and sore. That said, I’m happy we got to try out the route before race day – it will make it much less intimidating next Sunday knowing what to expect! I’m also particularly proud that, on the way back, I ran the WHOLE length of the bridge (1.3 kms) without stopping! We got to the start, and I told myself I was going to do it, and I did it. I felt like I wanted to die by the time I finished, but I did it!

And the 10k is certainly less daunting than it was a month ago. At the midway point of training, I didn’t think I could ever run more than 5 minutes at a time. People were talking about doing 10:1 intervals (10 minutes running, 1 minute walking) for the race, and I balked immediately. I thought there is no way I’ll be able to do that! I had hit a “wall” and figured I would be stuck behind it forever. But thanks to the awesome mentors and coaches (and some therapy from Lifemark, particularly on a sore right hip, and tight calves) I got to the other side! Here I am, planning to do 10:1’s on race day.

Secondly, I have to give thanks to my friend Carlee (Team Myles alumna) for reminding me to enjoy myself and have fun! I needed that reminder not to take it so seriously. I need to give thanks to ME also – ultimately I had to put the work in myself and believe I could do it or I wouldn’t be here. I’m not good at being proud of myself or giving myself praise – let alone accepting this from others – but I’m working on that. Ultimately, I can say I’m really am proud, and even surprised at how far I’ve come!

Finally, it’s also not easy for me to say what I feel, particularly verbally. And I likely will not get a chance to talk to each of you individually, so I will say it here: Each and every one of you on this team has amazed me with your determination and perseverance every single week. The fact that some of you have pushed through serious health problems, extremely busy work and personal schedules, and family obligations to get yourself out there running is seriously inspiring. Your dedication helped keep ME dedicated. There were many times when I felt down, and didn’t want to run, but your posts and milestones got me up off the couch and out the door. Thanks to Leanne and Melissa (my fantastic mentor) for pushing me to keep going and helping me hit my own milestones when I really needed it. You are all super strong, powerful and fantastic humans, and I want to thank you for being awesome teammates.

I’m sad that my time with this Team is almost over, but I know we will all keep in touch and (hopefully) continue running together. My journey (and yours) will continue beyond Sunday. This 10k is an ending in a way, but it’s also just the beginning!